New ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ Clip Introduces “Bad Ape” (VIDEO)

Like its 2011 and 2014 counterparts, this summer's War for the Planet of the Apes is quietly looking to stake its claim as the best film of the summer. Granted that won't be much of a challenge in a summer that's seen one disappointing film after another—Wonder Woman being the exception that proves the rule—but everything we've seen so far from this film is leading me to believe that it's going to be another home run. 

This new clip/trailer for the film introduces us to a new character named Bad Ape, brought to life by Steve Zahn. He appears to be a rather pitiable character and if I were to hazard a guess based solely on my knowledge of franchise filmmaking, he's probably going to turn out to be bad news for Caesar and the other apes. I like to imagine Zahn getting a call from his agent about playing the role of "Bad Ape" in the new Planet of the Apes film and Zahn loudly proclaiming, "It's the role I was born to play, baby!"

Fingers crossed that "Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off" becomes canon in this new universe, if only so we can finally get an expanded version of that awesome "Dr. Zaius" song...

War for the Planet of the Apes sneaks into theaters on July 14.